Stand-up tray, package and method

ABSTRACT

A tray (20) for use in a food package having an outer surrounding wrapper (14), such as a flow wrap, and configured for standing on end, is described herein. The tray can include one or more compartments (30). Each of the compartments can include a bottom wall (34), an opening (36) opposite the bottom wall, and a surrounding side wall (32) extending between the bottom wall and the opening. A generally planar, peripheral flange (22) is disposed about the periphery of the tray and adjacent the opening of the compartment or, if more than one compartments, the openings of the compartments. The tray can include a pair of flaps (40), each disposed on an opposite side of the tray. Each of the flaps (40) is connected to the flange (22) via an associated intersection and extends substantially perpendicular relative to the flange such that the tray can be supported on one of the flaps in a generally upright orientation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from European Patent Application NumberEP16182274.7, filed Aug. 1, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD

A tray is described herein and, in particular, a tray configured tostand on end, as well as a package incorporating the tray, a method offorming the tray, and a method of forming the package incorporating thetray.

BACKGROUND

A common package, such as for food products, includes a tray surroundedby a flow wrap. Such trays can include one or more compartments, whereeach compartment has a bottom wall, an opposite access opening, and asurrounding sidewall extending between the bottom wall and the accessopening. Such trays also include a peripheral flange surrounding thecompartment, or, if more than one compartment, surrounding the more thanone compartments. However, such packages can be difficult to stand onend because the flange projects outwardly beyond the bottom wall of thecompartment. Thus, when standing one edge and supported by an edge ofthe bottom wall of the compartment and an edge of the flange, asubstantial angle of inclination results and the center of gravity ofthe package can be disposed such that the package is difficult to standon end. While the package could be disposed on its bottom side or topside, that orientation would result in a small portion of the packagebeing visible to a consumer, such as on a display or retail shelf.

SUMMARY

A tray for use in a food package having an outer surrounding wrapper,such as a flow wrap, and configured for standing on end, is describedherein. The tray can include one or more compartments. Each of thecompartments can include a bottom wall, an opening opposite the bottomwall, and a surrounding side wall extending between the bottom wall andthe opening. A generally planar, peripheral flange is disposed at leastpartially, and preferably completely, about the periphery of the trayand adjacent the opening of the compartment or, if more than onecompartments, the openings of the compartments. The tray includes atleast one and, optionally, a pair of flaps, disposed on opposite sidesof the tray, or one side if only one flap. Any description herein withrespect to the structure and function of a pair of flaps will also beapplicable to a tray having only one flap. Each of the flaps isconnected to the flange via an associated intersection or hinge andextends substantially perpendicular relative to the flange such that thetray can be supported on one of the flaps in a generally uprightorientation.

In one aspect, each of the flaps, or the one flap if only one flap, canbe movable from a first position, substantially parallel to the flange,to a second position, substantially perpendicular relative to theflange. The flaps can be movable about the intersection from the firstposition to the second position. The intersection can be one of achannel, score, perforation or thinned section disposed between theflange and the flap. The intersection can optionally be notched at atleast one end, and preferably at each end, thereof to facilitatemovement from the first positon to the second position.

In another aspect, each of the flaps can have a plurality of ribs. Eachof the ribs of at least one of the flaps can extend generallyperpendicular relative to the flange when the at least one of the flapsextends substantially perpendicular relative to the flange.

In yet another aspect, a portion of the sidewall of the one or morecompartments, adjacent one of the flaps, can have an inward taper awayfrom the hinge of the adjacent flap. The ribs of the one of the flapscan have intermediate segments that increase in depth generallycorresponding to the inward taper of the sidewall such that, when theone of the flaps is extending substantially perpendicular relative tothe flange, a portion of at least one and preferably more than one ofthe segments between the ribs abuts the portion of the sidewall of theone or more compartments. This can advantageously facilitate a generallyperpendicular orientation of the package when supported on the one ofthe flaps because the flap can abut the adjacent compartment to limitfurther inward movement of the flap while supporting the flap such thatthe flap can in turn support the package in the generally uprightorientation.

In one aspect, each of the ribs on one—or both—of the flaps can taper inwidth toward the intersection. In other words, the ribs can be wideraway from the intersection than adjacent the intersection. Each of theflaps has a free end, opposite the adjacent intersection, that isdisposed nearly—but not quite and generally short of—the bottom wall ofat least one of the at least one compartment. In other words, theflap—or both flaps—do not have a length the same as that of the distancefrom the flange to the bottom wall of the compartment or compartments.The can advantageously ensure that the flap or flaps do not interferewith transport of the tray along a conveyor prior to flow wrapping, asthe tray can be supported by the bottom wall of the compartment or wallsof the compartments. The free end of each of the flaps can optionallyhave an outwardly extending minor flange. This minor flange can assistin maintaining the shape of the ribs, particularly adjacent thereto.

In any of the aspects described herein, the tray can include a singlecompartment or an array of a plurality of compartments each optionallysurrounded by the flange, and the array is preferably at least partiallysurrounded by the flange.

In any of the aspects described herein, the tray can be provided with anouter surrounding wrapper. The wrapper can be applied using a flowwrapping process. For instance, the outer surrounding wrapper can be aflow wrap having a pair of end seals, where the end seals are optionallydisposed generally perpendicular to the flaps. Food or other productscan be deposited in the compartment or compartments prior to flowwrapping.

A method of forming a package using the tray described herein caninclude one or more of the steps of thermoforming or otherwise formingthe tray, depositing one or more food products in each of the at leastone compartments, folding each of the flaps from the first position tothe second position, either before or after the depositing step, andsurrounding the tray with a wrapper, such as using a flow wrap process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of a tray in accordance with anexemplary embodiment, showing a plurality of compartments surrounded bya peripheral flange and a pair of opposing flaps depending from edge ofthe flange;

FIG. 2 is a bottom perspective view of the tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view of the tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a section view of the tray taken along line A-A of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a package having an outer surroundingwrapper surrounding the tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a section view of the package of FIG. 6 taken along lineVII-VII;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a tray similar to the tray of FIG. 1,but showing the flaps in an unfolded orientation, with furtherdifferences described below;

FIG. 9 is a bottom perspective view of the tray of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of the tray of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a side elevation view of the tray of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 12 is an end view of the tray of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A package 10 is provided that has a tray 20 that has one or morecompartments 30 for containing a product, such as a food product 12, andan outer surrounding wrapper 14, where the package 10 is configured forstanding upright on one of its ends. This can advantageously allow forthe large front face of the package to face outwardly when the packageis on a shelf in a store, thereby provided a larger space for graphicsand other information. The one or more compartments 30 of the tray areat least partially surrounded by a peripheral flange 22. At least oneflap 40 is spaced from the compartments 30 by the flange 22. Preferably,though not necessarily, a pair of opposing flaps 40 are spaced from thecompartments by the flange 22. The flaps have an orientation that isadjacent to the compartments 30 and, in some instances, abutting thecompartments 30, such that the package 10 can be supported in itsupright orientation by one of the flaps 40. Optionally, the flaps 40 caneach include a plurality of ribs 42 with intermediate segments that havea taper corresponding to, or, in some instances, matching the taper of asidewall 32 of an adjacent compartment 30 such that part of the flaps 40can abut the sidewall 32 of the compartment 30. This can result in agenerally perpendicular angle between surfaces of the flap and theflange 22 to facilitate supporting the package 10 in its uprightorientation.

Turning now to an exemplary embodiment of the tray 20 for use in thepackage 10, shown in Figures. 1-5, the tray 20 includes an array of aplurality of compartments 30. Each of the compartments has a bottom wall34, shown in FIGS. 1-3, an access opening 36, as shown in FIG. 1, and asidewall 32 extending between the access opening 36 and the bottom wall34, such as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The sidewalls 32 of the compartments30 can have an inward taper, as shown in FIG. 5, such that the accessopening 36 is larger in area than the area of the bottom wall 34. Thetaper can be provided as part of a draft angle to facilitate withdrawalof the tray 20 from a mold cavity during forming. The compartments 30are sized to accommodate products, such as food products 12, forexample, biscuits. While multiple compartments 30 are shown in theexemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1-5, the number of compartments can vary,including having one a single compartment. Furthermore, the height ofthe sidewall 32 can vary for a given compartment 30.

The compartments 30 are surrounded by a peripheral flange 22 adjacenttheir access openings 36. Specifically, the array of compartments issurrounded by the flange 22. The flange 22 optionally can extend betweenadjacent compartments 30 or partially between adjacent compartments 30.The flange 22 is generally planar, and is optionally generally coplanarwith at least a portion of the bottom walls 34 of the compartments 30.Although a flange 22 is shown surrounding the array of compartments 30,the flange 22 could instead just be on a pair of opposing sides of thetray 20, or only on one side of the tray 20. The flanges could also bearranged on adjacent sides of a corner of the tray, or on all sides ofthe tray. The flange 22 can also include a small downturned rim 24, asshown in FIG. 9.

A pair of opposing flaps 40 are attached to the flange 22, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 5. The flaps 40 can be attached relative to the flange 22 byrespective intersections 26, which optionally can be hinges. Forexample, the flaps 40 can be directly attached to the planar portion ofthe flange 22, or attached to the rim 24 of the flange 22. The flaps 40extended generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular tothe generally planar portion of the flange 20. The flanges 40 eachadvantageously provide a support surface for supporting the package 10in an upright orientation, as shown in FIG. 7. Although two flanges 40are shown, only one flange may be provided. Further, although theflanges 40 are shown on a longer side of the tray 20, they couldalternatively extend on the shorter side of the tray 20, or on both along and a short side, or on all sides. Because the flange 40 projectsoutwardly from the tops of the compartments 30, adjacent the accessopenings 36, if the flaps 40 were not present, then the tray would beinclined when tried to stand on end. That is, the tray, and package,would be supported by edges of the bottom wall of the compartments andan adjacent edge of the flange. With the recess of the edges of thebottom walls relative to the adjacent edge of the flange, thisinclination results. The inclination may be of such a degree that thepackage is unstable and not able to be supported, or may be unstable, inan upright orientation on one of its ends. The flaps 40 make up for thisrecess and can provide a more stable package 10 able to be supported inan upright orientation on of the end of the package adjacent one of theflaps 40.

Turning now to details of the flaps 40, each of the flaps can have aseries of ribs 42, as shown in FIG. 4. The ribs 42 can provide strengthto the flaps 40, and can extend outwardly—away from the compartments30—relative to inward portion or segments 44 of the flaps 40 disposedbetween adjacent ribs 42. The ribs 42 can have an outward surface thatis optionally curved. The inward segments 44 of the flaps 40 can taperinwardly toward the adjacent compartments 30, with an increasing taperas the inward segments 44 extend away from the adjacent intersection 26.In other words, the depth of the ribs 42 increases as the ribs 42 extendaway from the intersection 26, thereby positioning the inward segments44 of the flaps 40 progressively more inward. The taper of the inwardsegments 44 of the flaps 40 can correspond or match the taper of thesidewalls 32 of the adjacent compartments 30. Advantageously, this canallow the flaps 40—specifically, the inward segments 44 thereof, to abutthe sidewalls 32 of the adjacent compartments 30, as shown in FIG. 5,such that the angle between the outward surface of the ribs 42 and thegenerally planar portion of the flange 22 are generally perpendicular orat another preferred angle that facilitates support of the package 10 onthe flange 40 of the tray 20 when the tray 20 is surrounded by the outerwrapper 14. The ribs 42 can also have a width that tapers, increasing inwidth as the ribs 42 extend away from the intersection 26, in additionto the depth of the ribs 42 that tapers. The ribs 42 can optionallyextend to free edges of the flaps 40, and optional flanges 46 can extendbetween bottom edges of the ribs 42. While it has been described thatthe ribs 42 are projecting outwardly from the inward segments 44 of theflaps 40, that arrangement could be reversed. For example, the ribscould project inwardly instead of outwardly such that the ribs abut thecompartments and the inward portion of the flaps is now an outwardportion of the flaps that the tray can reset on when on end.

The flaps 40 preferably have a length that is less than the depth of thecompartments 30, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. This means that the freeedges of the flaps 40 are not coplanar with the bottom walls 32 of thecompartments 30. This can help reduce a lifting of the tray 20 by theflaps 40, such as from a conveyor, during movement of the tray 20 priorto and during flow wrapping.

As mentioned above, the flaps 40 are connected to the flange of the trayby intersections 26, which can be hinges. The intersection 26 or hingecan optionally be any one of or combinations of channel, score,perforation, unformed section or thinned section disposed between theflange 22 and the flap 40. The tray 20 can be formed with the flaps 40in an unfolded orientation, as shown in FIGS. 8-12, where the flaps 40are generally coplanar with the generally planar portion of the flange22 as opposed to the folded orientation of FIGS. 1-5. Notches 28 can beformed at one or both ends of the intersection 26, as shown in FIG. 10,to facilitate folding of the flaps 40 to the orientation of FIGS. 1-5.The trays 20 of FIGS. 8-12 differ from the trays of FIGS. 1-5 in thatthe corners of the flaps 40 are not tapered (see tapered corners inFIGS. 1 and 4), the ribs 42 are not as deep, and the flaps 40 arelonger.

Turning now to the method of manufacturing the package 10, the tray 20can be formed from any suitable manufacturing process, such asthermoforming. After forming, the flaps 40 of the tray 20 can be foldedfrom an unfolded orientation (shown in FIGS. 8-12) to a foldedconfiguration (shown in FIGS. 1-5). This folding can be done manually orusing automated equipment. Products 12 can be placed in the one or morecompartments 30, either prior to folding or after folding of the flaps40. The placement of product 12 in the compartments 30 can either bedone manually or using automated equipment. The tray 20 with the product12 therein and the flaps 40 folded can be advanced through flow wrappingequipment to place an outer surrounding wrapper 14 about the tray 20.The flow wrapping equipment can form end seals 16, which can optionallybe gusseted so as to reduce the width of the end seals 16. The resultingpackage 10 can advantageously be stood upright and supported in thatupright orientation by one of the flanges 40, including if the flange 40abuts the sidewall 32 of an adjacent compartment 30. The wrapper can bea flexible film suitable, for example, for contact with food.

1. A tray for use in a package having an outer surrounding wrapper, thetray comprising: at least one compartment having a bottom wall, anopening opposite the bottom wall, and a surrounding side wall extendingbetween the bottom wall and the opening; a generally planar, peripheralflange disposed about the compartment and adjacent the opening; at leastone flap connected relative to the flange via an associated intersectionand extending substantially perpendicular relative to the flange suchthat the tray can be supported on the flap in a generally uprightorientation, wherein the flap is movable about the intersection from afirst position, substantially parallel relative to the flange, to asecond position, substantially perpendicular relative to the flange. 2.(canceled)
 3. The tray of claim 1, wherein the intersection is one of achannel, score, perforation or thinned section disposed between theflange and the flap.
 4. The tray of claim 1, wherein the intersection isnotched at at least one end thereof to facilitate movement from thefirst position to the second position.
 5. The tray of claim 1, whereinthe flap has a length substantially the same as the sidewall of thecompartment.
 6. The tray of claim 1, wherein the flap has a plurality ofribs.
 7. The tray of claim 6, wherein each of the ribs of the flapextends generally perpendicular relative to the flange when the flapextends substantially perpendicular relative to the flange.
 8. The trayof claim 7, wherein a portion of the sidewall of the compartment,adjacent the flap has an inward taper away, and wherein the ribs of theflap have intermediate segments that increase in depth generallycorresponding to the inward taper of the sidewall such that, when theflap is extending substantially perpendicular relative to the flange, aportion of at least some of the intermediate segments abut the portionof the sidewall of the compartment.
 9. The tray of claim 6, wherein eachof the ribs on the flap tapers in width toward the intersection.
 10. Thetray of claim 9, wherein the flap has a free end, opposite the adjacentintersection, and wherein the free end of flap has an outwardlyextending minor flange.
 11. The tray of claim 1, wherein a pair of theflaps are provided, each of the flaps being on opposite sides of thetray.
 12. The tray of claim 1, wherein the tray comprises a plurality ofcompartments disposed in an array, and wherein the array of compartmentsis at least partially surrounded by the flange.
 13. The tray of claim 1,in combination with an outer surrounding wrapper, preferably, a flowwrap having a pair of end seals, the end seals being disposed generallyperpendicular to the flap.
 14. The tray of claim 12, wherein thecompartment contains at least one food product.
 15. A method of forminga package using the tray of claim 1, the method comprising: forming thetray, and preferably thermoforming the tray, and, after forming;depositing one or more food products in the compartment; folding theflap from the first position substantially parallel relative to theflange, to the second position, substantially perpendicular relative tothe flange, either before or after the depositing step; and flowwrapping the tray and food products in an outer surrounding wrapper.